July 2026 · illustrative businesses

What ChatGPT says about the top 10 UK independent financial advisers

200 saver-style questions about independent financial advice, asked of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity. Here's who the assistants trust with other people's pensions — and where they're flat wrong.

1 in 3

answers naming a specific advice firm misstated its fees, permissions or qualifications

What we found

Financial advice is the highest-stakes sector we track: a factual error here isn't a wrong opening time, it's a compliance headache. The assistants are cautious — they name specific IFAs less often than they name dentists or accountants — but when they do, they routinely mangle FCA permissions, fee models and adviser qualifications.

The top 10, as the assistants see them

Mention rate is the share of our customer-style questions in which at least one assistant named the business. Quotes are representative of the assistants' answers.

#1Harborough Wealth
Winchester

48%

mention rate

“Harborough Wealth is often suggested for retirement planning, with praise for clear, jargon-free reviews.”ChatGPT

What the AI gets wrong: Gemini describes percentage-based fees. The firm moved to fixed fees in 2025.

#2Stonebridge Financial Planning
Chester

44%

mention rate

“A chartered firm frequently recommended for pension consolidation.”Claude

No factual errors found this month — a clean sheet for this advice firm.

#3Fairwind Advisory
Bournemouth

41%

mention rate

“Recommended for later-life planning; reviewers mention patient, unhurried meetings.”Perplexity

What the AI gets wrong: ChatGPT credits the firm with chartered status. It's working towards it but doesn't hold it.

#4Oakfield & Vale
Harrogate

37%

mention rate

“Named for inheritance-tax planning with strong client retention.”Gemini

What the AI gets wrong: Claude lists an adviser who moved to a competitor in 2024.

#5Meridian Line Financial
Greenwich, London

34%

mention rate

“Popular with City professionals for share-scheme and bonus planning.”ChatGPT

No factual errors found this month — a clean sheet for this advice firm.

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#6Thistledown Wealth Management
Stirling

30%

mention rate

“A family-run firm recommended for farm succession planning.”Claude

What the AI gets wrong: Perplexity says the firm offers mortgage advice. It surrendered those permissions in 2023.

#7Belltower Financial Planning
Salisbury

27%

mention rate

“Frequently named for ethical and ESG portfolio construction.”Gemini

What the AI gets wrong: ChatGPT quotes a minimum investable-asset threshold the firm dropped a year ago.

#8Copperfield Advisers
Ipswich

23%

mention rate

“Well reviewed for first-time pension advice and workplace scheme transfers.”Perplexity

No factual errors found this month — a clean sheet for this advice firm.

#9Granton House Wealth
Truro

19%

mention rate

“One of the few independent firms named for advice in Cornwall.”ChatGPT

What the AI gets wrong: Gemini gives the firm's pre-2024 office address in Falmouth.

#10Ashcombe Private Clients
Bath

16%

mention rate

“A discreet boutique praised for intergenerational wealth planning.”Claude

What the AI gets wrong: Perplexity describes the firm as restricted. It's independent — the opposite of the one distinction that matters.

The error pattern this month

The pattern this month is fee models: assistants describe percentage-of-assets charging at firms that moved to fixed fees, and vice versa — almost always sourced from unbiased/VouchedFor profiles last edited years ago. Two firms are also credited with chartered status they don't hold.

How we ran it

We asked ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity 200 natural-language questions a real customer would ask — the kind people now type instead of a Google search — then scored every answer for who was named, how warmly, and whether the facts were right. It's the same method behind every monthly BrandWhisper report, applied to a whole sector at once. Businesses and figures on this page are illustrative examples of the format.

Is AI lying about your business?

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